This year’s Jeju Forum includes a variety of sessions that discuss Jeju issues and future vision. 

In the session, “Peace Cities Network: Building Cooperative Network among Peace Cities to 

Expand World Peace,” at 1:30-3 p.m. on June 26, organized by the Jeju Special Self-

Governing Province, the panelists discuss ways to establish world peace with references to 

the cases in which the conflicts between states were settled through the international 

exchange and cooperation between local governments, especially peace cities. Prof. Gang 

Geun-hyeong of Jeju National University will chair the session, and Dr. Thomas Schneider, 

Director of the Erich Maria Remarque Peace Center, Akitoshi Nakamura, Director of 

Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, and Enrique Rahmann, Global Director of the International 

Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources will give their presentations and 

share their views.

Global Peace Cities are the municipalities designated by the central or local governments. As 

a member of the Conference of Mayors for Peace, Jeju City introduced itself as the Island of 

World Peace at the conference held in Nagasaki, Japan last July.

The Pacific Rim Parks Members Conference at 3:20-4:50 p.m. on the same day will be an 

occasion for Jeju City to lead the networking of the seven member cities (plus seven 

potential members). This session will be chaired by Ko Seong-joon, Emeritus Professor at Jeju 

National University. Following the speech of Stephan Haggard, Krause Distinguished 

Professor at University of California San Diego, James Hubbell, President of Pacific Rim Parks 

Foundation, Kyle Bergman, Co-chair of Pacific Rim Parks Foundation, David Edick Jr., 

Member of the Steering Committee of Pacific Rim Parks Foundation, Gerdes Marianne, 

Executive Director of Ilan-Lael Foundation, and Kim Tae-il, Professor of Jeju National 

University will hold discussion.

On June 28, the last day of the three-day forum, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, 

Jeju Peace Institute and Jeju Olle Foundation will jointly hold the special session, “Path to 

reconciliation, coexistence and happiness for Jeju Islanders,” at 2:00-3:30 p.m. “Pathfinder,” 

Suh Myung-sook, Chairperson of Jeju Olle Foundation who has blazed 26 “trails of 

happiness” for the last 10 years, will give a keynote speech. Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio, 

the 2008 Nobel laureate of literature, will deliver a video message, as he could not attend 

the session due to health complications. 

Actress and Movie Director Moon Sori, who joined the nationwide campaign, “The Jeju April 

3 Incident: The History of the Republic of Korea,” and Prof. Song Ki-jeong of Ewha Womans 

University, who translated Clezio’s novella, “Tempest,” which was dedicated to Jeju haenyeo, 

will hold a discussion on the identity and spirit of Jeju Island to heal the historical scars for 

reconciliation and peace.

“Tempest” has a preface entitled, “To hanyeo of Jeju’s Udo Island.” In the tribute, Le Clezio, 

who is an honorary Jeju citizen, draws a parallel between his homeland Mauritius and Jeju 

Island as volcanic islands that have been victimized by the world powers and the April 3 

Incident, respectively, ruminating on the spirit of Jeju and expressing his affection for the 

island.

The forum introduced more sessions on the Apr. 3 Incident this year, marking the 70th 

anniversary of the incident. On June 28, “Jeju April 3 incident from Eyes of the Foreign 

Jounalists” and “State Violence, Women and Jeju 4.3 Incident” sessions are scheduled at 3:50-

5:20 p.m. and 5:40-7:10 p.m., respectively. In the former session, foreign journalists who 

collected news materials about the historic incident will present their perspectives and 

discuss how to promote international discourses on the subject.

The other sessions on Jeju issues are “Jeju's Alternative Option and Strategy for Actualizing 

Peace and Human Rights City” (organized by Jeju Research Institute); “Global Tourism and 

the Future of Jeju” (by Jeju International Council) “Policy Issues and Strategies for Sustainable 

Island Tourism” (Jeju Special Self-Governing Province/ Jeju Tourism Organization); “The 

Future of Smart City” (Jeju Free International City Development Center); “Smart Growth 

Control Strategies in the Korean Peninsula” (Jeju Special Self-governing Province / Soongsil 

University); JDC, towards a Hub of International Exchanges in Asia (Jeju Free International 

City Development Center); “Case Studies on the Advanced Countries’ Decentralization 

Process for Upgrading the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province’s Devolution Level” (Jeju 

Special Self-Governing Province); “Global Investment Outlook for the Future of the Beauty 

Products Industry and Exploration of Strategies for Entering the Global Market” (Jeju Special 

Self-Governing Province); and “Networking Art and Peace Community in East Asia” (Jeju 

Special Self-Governing Province / Jeju Peace Institute / Jeju Museum of Art).